The Zippleback
by Luki Dimension
Summary: To the village, they've always been Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut. Two minds, one entity. Doesn't mean they're happy about it.
1. Tuffnut

_I can honestly say I have no idea where this came from. I was just watching the movie for for god-knows-how-many-time, when I finally wondered why Ruffnut and Tuffnut were so cruel to one another but never left each other's side. Also wanted to write something on Ruffnut's obvious crush on Hiccup and how she felt once Astrid and Hiccup were together...and it somehow turned into this little angst fest._

_Hope you enjoy._

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**TUFFNUT**

Tuffnut was well aware that being a teenager on Berk was tough. Being a Viking warrior teen on Berk was even tougher, but being a _female_ Viking warrior was close to impossible. Most girls on Berk were excused from duty, training in how to keep crops and animals alive, how to heal wounds, and countless other mundane tasks that kept Berk from staying a broken, burning wreck every time a dragon raid showed up. It was a rare few that forced themselves into the fray, usually those from proud families who had no son to carry on the tradition. It was certainly that for Astrid.

But not Ruffnut. She hadn't shown any superior skill to anyone else, her family had a son, there was nothing that said she had to...and yet they knew she was expected to fight because Tuffnut would.

The twins had figured it out when they were very young that people didn't see them as two entities. They were actually pretty certain many villagers weren't certain who was named what. They weren't the girl 'Ruffnut' and the boy 'Tuffnut,' just 'Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut.' The twins, one person with two bodies. Zippleback cut in two. When one succeeded, both were praised, and when one screwed up, both were blamed, regardless of whether or not the other had actually been there. They were twins, and twins looked out for each other, so they should stay together. When they were kids they didn't mind – it meant they had something special, that no one else in the village did. They shared everything, even finished each other's sentences, and would go to hell and back for each other. When Ruff found out Tuff could sleep under the window because of the light, they switched beds. And when Ruff got a pining for seabird eggs, Tuff would climb the cliffs to find a nest.

They'd actually been happy to spend all day together.

At first Ruffnut had been happy to be selected for putting out fires, with the knowledge she would train to be a warrior when she came of age. Tuffnut had been happy for her, until Ruffnut had fallen and nearly been eaten by an overhead Gronkle. She'd been saved, but their father had rounded on Tuffnut.

"What were you doing?"

"What? I was-I didn't..."

"You protect your sister! That's your job isn't it?"

Neither had liked the implication. That Ruffnut wasn't capable of doing the job alone. Or that Tuffnut would be expected to protect her at every turn.

Then the opposite had happened. Tuffnut got carried off, saved by a throwing net that grounded the beast, and Ruffnut had borne the brunt of blame for not taking care of him.

They were twins. Like the Zippleback, born to be forever bound.

Conclusion? They were nothing, without each other.

That's when they'd started to fight, Tuffnut remembered. In their naive little minds they'd thought that if they'd shown they couldn't get along, maybe they'd be separated for their own good. Then they could show that they could take care of themselves. That they didn't have to be 'Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut-the-Twins.' They could be singular, useful, Vikings in their own right.

It hadn't worked, but they'd kept it up, raised the intensity of their fights, till neither could even remember how to say a good thing about their sibling. By the time either realised what had happened, it was too late to change. Tuffnut's affectionate sister who would grin at the slightest joke shifted into a snapping, insulting she-devil, while Ruffnut's brother who would do her braids in the morning became a brute that seemed to loathe her very presence.

Instinct drove them to fight, and expectations kept them from leaving each other.

The worst part for both of them had been in the Training Grounds, when Gobber told them the best recruit would have the honour of killing their first dragon in front of the village. The best recruit. Singular. Which they were not. Even if they ran rings around the others, they wouldn't win, because no one in the village would ever say one of them was better than the other.

They would always be doomed to never reach higher than second place.

Tuffnut knew he wasn't a great warrior. Oh he liked to pretend, even got the stupid tattoo to show off to the others, but he couldn't even take on a Terrible Terror without freaking out. Ruffnut on the other hand, had that intense chip-on-her-shoulder that any Viking warrioress needed to get anywhere. If he wasn't around, she could have gone places – maybe even rivalled Astrid in the ring. Or maybe she would never have been asked to pick up a spear in the first place. And she certainly wouldn't be in the place she was right now. Sitting on the steps of their home, watching Hiccup and Astrid on their dragons with a look of genuine loss on her face. Tuffnut, sitting on the fence, took a deep breath and headed towards the highest point on the island.

Hiccup probably didn't even know he'd hurt Ruffnut – he had that oblivious air to him, always had. But Tuffnut could forgive him for that, it just made him like everyone else in the village. And he had proven years of tradition could be changed. With no more need for dragon warriors, maybe, just maybe...he could get his sister back.

He wondered if there were any birds still laying this time of year...


	2. Ruffnut

**RUFFNUT**

It was a tapestry perfect picture. Hiccup and Toothless were all but dancing around the Nadder, its beak snapping whenever they came in range, while Astrid's head whirled to keep them in sights. Both teens were laughing, too enthused in their came of cat and mouse to care about anything around them.

Sitting on the steps of her own house, Ruffnut sighed and wondered why she hadn't seen it coming, while her brother, in one of his rare thoughtful moments, sat on the fence watching her with genuine sympathy. She barely noticed him leave, too occupied in the image in front of her.

Ruffnut had always liked difference. Crazy, odd, unlike the norm. The sort of things that stood out, unlike her. Even though she was one of two warrioress trainees in the village, a rarity in itself, she always fell into the background as part of 'Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut,' while Astrid took centre stage. Astrid, who not only had the looks, but the brains and the skill to back up her rise as the best rookie in Berk. None of the guys even came close to her, even if Snotlout thought differently.

She wasn't even entirely sure if Astrid was interested in guys yet. She certainly didn't seem to be – too focused on training, on acing dragon training. But it would happen eventually, and when it did, Astrid would no doubt have her pick of both the older, younger, and current generations if she so desired. Snotlout was probably the most likely choice, the closest to an equal she had (though Ruffnut personally thought that was like comparing a Terror to a Nightmare), which left Ruffnut with Fishlegs or Hiccup, neither of which filled her with any joy. Fishlegs was a swot, who was more likely to spout out her dragon fighting record than a compliment, and Hiccup was...Hiccup. Different, but in that 'did-Loki-curse-you-when-you-were-born?' way. Something to be pitied and mocked.

And then, after screwing up two classes, Hiccup had somehow managed to back a Zippleback into a cage. Unarmed. It was crazy, impossible. No Viking could do that.

To Ruffnut, it was a dream come true.

And it hadn't been a fluke. Every day Hiccup seemed to pull of the impossible. Gronkles fell out of the air in his presence, Nadders collapsed with a touch of his hand, Terrors out and out **ran** from him! To a guy who barely two weeks ago had been considered the second biggest threat to Berk.

And he was so...modest about it. Astrid always had that air of superiority, even when criticising herself, while the others boasted about immature (and frankly wrong) achievements. Hiccup just gave a shy smile and brushed over his triumphs as if they were unimportant.

Ruffnut was smitten in days. This impossible underdog was finally hitting all the right buttons, and best of all, Astrid **hated** him. For once in her life, Ruffnut actually had a chance of getting something she wanted, so long as she could grab him before Astrid came to her senses. Hiccup was an outsider; surely he'd actually be able to see her as Ruffnut rather than 'Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut' if given the chance?

So, after training, she'd push the boys out of the way to walk by his side. When he came to eat, she'd toss her brother out of her way to get to his seat, and if Snotlout got there first, would add a swing to her walk before leaning on the table to even the distance. Judging from the red cheeks Hiccup often had after her actions, it was clear she was having an effect.

She'd longed to get a hold of him on his own. She swore that if she ever saw him walking through the village on his own, she'd knock her brother out and try to follow Hiccup wherever he went. But the boy was nothing if not careful, whenever he disappeared; she always lost him in the woods.

Then, they day when everything changed. Hiccup was given the honour of killing the dragon, much to Astrid's obvious fury, and the teens had watched him walk into the ring, picking up the tiniest dagger and a shield. The dragon had burst from its pen, flaming head to foot, and stalked towards him. Hiccup, in turn, had dropped the shield and sword, and held out his hand. No fear, no worry, and eyes more focused than anyone had seen glancing between the dragon and his father as his fingers got closer and closer to the dragons snout without hesitation.

That moment was when Ruffnut fell completely and utterly in love with the crazy dragon boy.

Then their leader had slammed down on the cage. The dragon had attacked; Astrid had ran in to help, and then the Night Fury. That incredible swift and powerful and hey-why-is-he-not-attacking-Hiccup? Creature. Who Hiccup begged to run, and when his father dragged him away, was begging still. When Stoic walked back to the village, it was to ready the ships. They were going to the dragon's nest, and taking the Night Fury with them.

The teens had all gathered in the watchtower to watch the boats sail, thinking about what had happened. Hiccup's sudden talent with dragons, his habit of disappearing into the forest where he claimed to have shot down a Night Fury, that very same breed coming to his aid while wearing a _saddle_.

All of them could figure out what it meant, but they weren't sure they wanted to.

Then Astrid. Pretty, smart, had-already-somehow-known-about-the-dragon Astrid came to them, saying Hiccup needed their help. When they asked for what, her answer had been simple.

"_Something crazy."_

Ruffnut was the first one to follow.

Hiccup did not disappoint. He finished what he'd started that morning, coaxing the Monstrous Nightmare from its cage, setting Snotlout's hand where his own had been. It truly had been crazy, falling into insane when Hiccup was held up rope and nodded to the other dragons. They had to learn how to fly, get to the dragon's nest to help the others against the monster he and Astrid had seen, to save Toothless. Ruffnut was all for it, and she eyed the beautiful Nadder. That was her kind of dragon.

Then Hiccup had tossed them all rope, given the Nadder to Astrid, and told Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut to take the Zippleback.

She told herself it made sense, as she tied the rope around the gas head's neck. No matter how you looked at it they were one dragon short, and it made sense that twins would take a two headed dragon. Two minds but one entity.

If her brother saw her teeth clench while her eyes puffed up, he didn't mention it.

And now, after all is said and done, she really _should_ have seen it coming. Hiccup, their hero, their saviour, the boy...man who had changed their village forever was awake all of five minutes before Astrid kissed him. The greatest guy in the village flew off into the sunset with the best girl in the village, while Snotlout, Fishlegs and 'Ruffnut-and-Tuffnut' flew behind.

Overall, everything had changed. But for her, everything was the same. Where was Ruffnut-the-girl's happy ending?

Suddenly, a something hit her head, and she jerked back with a squawk, unintentionally making room for Tuffnut who sat down.

"Jerk! What was that for?" she snapped, punching his shoulder in frustration. Tuffnut refused to look her in the eye, instead holding up his other hand as an offering. Ruffnut blinked at the two chicken eggs in his palm.

"Eggs?"

Tuffnut shrugged. "No seabirds are laying this time of year. I'll climb up the cliffs when spring comes but these'll have to do for now."

In the back of her mind, Ruffnut remembered a too far gone time, with a pouting girl sitting on some steps, while a dirty and bleeding boy offered up two small spotted eggs to get her to smile. Her lips pulled up and took one of the eggs.

"You have the other. I'm not that hungry."

Tuffnut took to tossing the egg in his hand, and watched with his sister as Hiccup and Astrid finally took off on their dragons.

"You can do better."

Ruffnut laughed. "What, you're stealing my lines now?"

Tuffnut smirked. "It's true. You want a guy that only looks at you. Astrid's gonna spend the rest of her life trying to wrestle attention away from the dragon. I hear Toothless already gets to sleep in his bed, and I bet he's not gonna let Hiccup kick him out for her."

Ruffnut laughed. "I just heard on the bed when Stoic's not looking."

Her brother shrugged. "On, in, under...does it matter? Fact is you can do better. You just don't know it yet."

He'd probably been practising that line on his way back, because it was an out and out compliment. Something as rare as a thank you from Tuffnut's mouth, especially towards her. So she bit back the instinctive insult, and stood up.

"Let's go take Hyken and Drakken for a fly. They're getting fat."

Tuffnut smirked and headed off. "Maybe on Hyken's side. You know what they say about pets taking after their own-"

The thrown egg was completely expected, as was the "I'll show you fat!" shriek that followed. Tuffnut threw his own egg in retaliation and bolted. As the two ran through the village, heading for the stables, both shrieked insults and the odd punch when they got close enough, but both were smiling.

Maybe things hadn't changed.

But it was a start.

**END**


End file.
